An Inmate at Jefferson County Correctional Facility in Texas Dies While in Custody
At about 3:25 a.m. on Monday, August 7, 2017, 38-year-old Jacobie Flowers was admitted to the Jefferson County Correctional Facility in Beaumont, Texas, on charges of alleged public intoxication. The Beaumont Police Department made the arrest. Before arriving at the county jail, a nearby hospital gave Flowers medical clearance. At the jail, he was placed on a mental health hold. Approximately 12 hours after he was brought into the jail, a jailer discovered that he was in distress, lying on the floor. According to the Sheriff’s office, members of the jail’s medical staff were summoned and cardiopulmonary resuscitation began. Flowers was taken to a nearby hospital in an ambulance, and at about 3:40 p.m. he was pronounced dead. The custodial death is under investigation.
Jails have protocols related to inmate care, and much of the purpose is to keep inmates and staff members safe. Ever since the new Sandra Bland Act became law in June 2017, there have been additional measures put in place to help inmates who may be mentally ill and at risk for suicide. County jails are required to divert inmates with substance abuse issues and mental health issues toward treatment. In addition, independent law enforcement agencies must now investigate deaths that occur in jail.
The Sandra Bland Act was named after Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old black woman from Illinois who died in the Waller County Jail in Texas in 2015. The dash cam video of her interaction with a Department of Public Safety Trooper went viral on the Internet. Although she was pulled over for failure to use her blinker when changing lanes, she ended up being arrested on charges related to a physical altercation with the officer who pulled her over. Three days after being arrested, Bland was found hanging in her jail cell and she died. The Sandra Bland Act revised intake screening processes in county jails, so that mental health issues can be better identified. De-escalation training for law enforcement officers in basic training and continuing education is also now law.
As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.
–Guest Contributor
smchugh
smchugh